Cream dispenser with pleated walls and lip type opening

ABSTRACT

A cream dispenser in the form of a container of flexible material such as plastic having generally flexible top and bottom walls and pleated, collapsible sidewalls, an opening in one sidewall in the form of an elongated slit, flexible lips along the opposite sides of the slit, the lips normally closing the slit but being deflectable outwardly to permit discharge of the contents upon pressure being applied to container to collapse the same and said lips being deflectable inwardly upon insertion of a nozzle to recharge the dispenser and a removable closure for the opening.

United States Patent Robert E. Clarke 1410 Saratoga Drive, Bel Air, Md.21014 [2 1} Appl, No. 774,384

[22] Filed Nov. 8, 1968 [45] Patented May 25, 1971 [72] Inventor [54]CREAM DISPENSER WITH PLEATED WALLS AND LIP TYPE OPENING 1 Claim, 6Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 222/215, 222/490 [51] Int. Cl 865d 37/00 [50] Field ofSearch 222/490,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,897,890 2/1933 Cook220/41UX 3,083,877 4/1963 Gash 150/05 3,445,042 5/1969 Elmoreetal.222/490x FOREIGN PATENTS 1,074,906 7/1967 GreatBritain 222/490 PrimaryExaminer-Stanley H. Tollberg Assistant ExaminerH. S. Lane Attorneys-J.Wesley Everett and George L. Brehm ABSTRACT: A cream dispenser in theform of a container of flexible material such as plastic havinggenerally flexible top and bottom walls and pleated, collapsiblesidewalls, an opening in one sidewall in the form of an elongated slit,flexible lips along the opposite sides of the slit, the lips normallyclosing the slit but being deflectable outwardly to permit discharge ofthe contents upon pressure being applied to container to collapse thesame and said lips being deflectable inwardly upon insertion of a nozzleto recharge the dispenser and a removable closure for the opening.

PATENTEU MAY 2 5 IQYI INVENTOR RGBERT' E. Cl. ARK! CREAM DISPENSER WITHPLEATEI) WALLS AND LIP TYPE OPENING This invention relates to dispensersand more particularly to dispensers for cream products such as soap,shaving cream, tooth paste and the like and to such dispensers whichwhen empty may be readily refilled by the user.

It is an object to provide a dispenser of the character stated which iscompact and neat in appearance.

It is another object to provide a dispenser which may be economicallymanufactured.

A still further object is to provide such a dispenser which has a selfclosing discharge opening which will automatically open when pressure isapplied to the container portion thereof to permit discharge of thecontents but will, of itself, close when pressure is released.

An additional object is to provide a dispenser which may be readilyrecharged when empty and capable of repeated discharge and charge.

Additional objects and advantages will become apparent as thisdescription proceeds and reference is had to the accompanying drawingforming a part of this specification.

In said drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispenser according to my invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the discharge endof the dispenser showing details of the valve in the discharge openingand the outer cap;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view substantially along the line 3-3of FIG. 1 as it appears when hand pressure is applied thereto;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the discharge end of thedispenser with a recharge nozzle inserted therein;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 taken at right angles thereto andsubstantially on line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view with the outer cap removed fromthe discharge opening.

Referring now to the drawing in more detail the device comprises acontainer portion generally indicated 10 and a spout portion 11.

The container portion 10 is composed of relatively flat top and bottompanels 12 and I3 respectively, connected on all sides with accordionpleated sidewalls 14. The container is made of relatively flexiblematerial such as plastic. Although not necessary, the top and bottompanels may be made slightly more rigid than the pleated sidewalls tohelp retain the shape of the container and to this end ribs 15, whichmay be ornamentally arranged, can be used on the top and bottom panelsas shown in FIG. 1.

The spout portion 11 is formed as a thickened portion 16 formed integralin one of the pleated sidewalls and is provided with an opening in theform of an elongated slit l7. Positioned within this slit and extendinginwardly from opposite walls thereof are a pair of flexible lips 18which normally meet at the center of the slit and function to close thesame as shown in FIG. 2. These lips however may be deflected outwardlyif the container is pressed and the contents may be expelled. They willhowever return to their closed position when the pressure on thecontainer is released.

As above briefly stated and as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 the dispenser maybe refilled when empty. This is accomplished by the use of a stockcontainer 19 having a spout 20. The spout is inserted in the slit and inthis case the lips 18 are deflected inwardly and the contents from thestock container expelled through the spout and into the container 10 ofthe dispenser.

A cap 21 may be utilized to cover the slit 17. This cap is generallychannel shaped with inturned side flanges 22 which are slidably receivedin grooves 23 in the member 16. The cap may thus be removed or replacedby a simple sidewise sliding motion.

Having described my invention what I claim as new is:

l. A cream dis en ser comprisinfiz a. a contamer aving substantia y flatend walls and pleated sidewalls rendering the container expansible andcollapsible;

b. an outwardly extending thickened portion forming a spout integralwith a pleated sidewall, said thickened portion being rectangular inshape and having an elongated opening therethrough;

c. a pair of flexible lips extending inwardly from opposite sidewalls ofsaid opening and contacting each other along a line between saidsidewalls and closing said opening, said flexible lips being deflectableoutwardly to allow discharge of the contents of the containertherebetween and being deflectable inwardly to permit insertion of aspout to fill the container;

d. a pair of parallel grooves in opposite sides of the thickened portionforming the spout; and

e. a cover having opposed inturned flanges slidably positioned in'saidgrooves to removably attach said cover to said spout.

1. A cream dispenser comprising: a. a container having substantiallyflat end walls and pleated sidewalls rendering the container expansibleand collapsible; b. an outwardly extending thickened portion forming aspout integral with a pleated sidewall, said thickened portion beingrectangular in shape and having an elongated opening therethrough; c. apair of flexible lips extending inwardly from opposite sidewalls of saidopening and contacting each other along a line between said sidewallsand closing said opening, said flexible lips being deflectable outwardlyto allow discharge of the contents of the container therebetween andbeing deflectable inwardly to permit insertion of a spout to fill thecontainer; d. a pair of parallel grooves in opposite sides of thethickened portion forming the spout; and e. a cover having opposedinturned flanges slidably positioned in said grooves to removably attachsaid cover to said spout.